Chainsaw milling: supplier to local markets - European Tropical ...

4.2 ThE chaiNsaw supply chaiN iN camERooN: ThE NoRThERN TRail
Discussion and conclusion
Conservative assessments (minEF 2003) estimate the Cameroon domestic consumption of
sawn timber to be around 300,000 m 3 /year in 2003. no one can consider it a small-scale
activity; the northern trail organized by the aladji traders
represents an annual cash flow of six billion FCFa (koffi
2005).
The influence of the african domestic timber trade on the
management of natural forests has been neglected for years.
many african and international institutions, as well as nGos
and other bodies, saw the african timber sector through
the lens of international exports dominated by big foreign
companies 8 (roda 2005). The dominant vision was that the
domestic timber trade was a local affair, especially in the humid forests of africa. unlike
the international trade by sea, the domestic sawn timber trade was supposed to produce
little profit margins by international standards, which would certainly not allow
international trade by road transport over long distances.
it appears now that, against all apparent logic, sawn timber — as well as other
agricultural products (David 1999) — is shipped over long distances, crossing many
borders and bearing substantial transport costs and financial risks. Effective trade
networks are at work. They display evident abilities to adapt to regional political contexts,
which change rapidly. They are an important part of the process of regional integration
through a more or less 9 informal trade. The progressive weakening of the states of the
region, the increase of conflicts in the last decades and economic uncertainties may have
helped these networks succeed.
another important factor is the increasing demand for wood in the sudano-sahelian
regions. Two simple indicators demonstrate this demand: the large distances that are
involved, and the price. what are the forces that can create such a demand, despite low
average purchasing power? Demographic forces and urbanization are important drivers.
africa is one of the less urbanized continents and has one with the fastest urban growth
rates.
There is a need to study how demographic dynamics, regional inequalities, and an increasing
need for shelter and construction materials have an impact on forest resources. wood
is one of the most versatile construction materials, but also one of the scarcest in sudanosahelian
regions. none of these areas can produce the five-metre beams that are one of
the most demanded products along the northern trail (koffi 2005).
what are the long-term consequences of these trends on forest resources in africa?
Existing international regulations and initiatives focus on market tools such as log bans,
eco-certification, FlEGT, rEDD, etc. These tools have no direct effect on the domestic
trade, although they can influence it in some unexpected way, as in the case of European
bans boosting the illegal trade of domestic teak wood in indonesia (Guizol et al. 2005).
structural measures aiming to protect the forest can produce unintended effects when
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